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the animal itself, but by the classifier. The "instincts" are not strictly psychological nor physiological systems. (2) That the division into "instincts" is arbitrary, and that any classification which is based on real "ends," and which suits the purposes of our discussion, is as legitimate as any other. It is precisely like a filing system for documents: the system to be adopted is the one which makes reference convenient, and what is convenient for one purpose may be inconvenient for another. "Instincts" cannot legitimately be made the basis for "systems" of Social Psychology, or for any other theoretical constructions.

The fact that "instincts" are arbitrary groups, made for the logical purposes of the classifier, is made evident from the appearance of the same reaction in several "instincts" at once. The wolf, or the human animal, in pursuing game, may be exhibiting the "hunting instinct," the "acquisitive instinct," the "self preservative instinct" (since the food derived from the game will sustain his life), the "paternal instinct" (since the production and protection of his progeny depend upon the securing of food for himself, as well as for them), and even the "gregarious" and "self preservative" instincts.

Any given instinctive physiological and psychological reaction may be, at different times, a part of any of the "instincts" in such a list as McDougall's. Fighting may be combat for life itself against an active attack. It may be a struggle for food. It may be a struggle for a female (or on the part of a female for a male) in pursuance of the instinct of sex gratification. It may be combat for a female, but in pursuance of the tendency to beget. It may be in defense of progeny. It may be directed to "gregarious" ends, in the case of an animal or a man who is threatened with expulsion from, or ostracism in, a herd or social group. It may be in performance of an acknowledged leader's command, in direct self-abasement towards the leader. Or it may be a means of self-assertion. It may be a means toward "acquisition," or a form of play.

So with running, hiding, and practically all the definite complex reactions of which the animal is capable. The particular "instinct" the reaction expresses is in part dependent upon. circumstances of the actual reaction, but in large part on the whim of the one who classifies it. This must always be borne in mind in considering "instincts." The more useful course is to consider instinctive reaction psychologically, that is, as definite reactions to definite stimuli; and in connection with the desires and other emotional states of the animal which reacts.

25. Modifying Original Nature

[HUNTER, Walter S., "The Standpoint of Social Psychology," Psychological Review, 1920, Vol. 27, pp. 248-250.]

Shortly after birth an individual will, through heredity, manifest the fear reaction upon the presentation of certain stimuli. By virtue of associations, these stimuli may later become ineffective and new stimuli be secured which were previously indifferent. Thus birds on desert islands show no fear of man until the frequency of his appearance, coupled with effective stimuli for fear, finally endows the perception of man himself with the capacity to arouse fear. Studies of the conditioned reflex are laboratory observations of this same phenomenon. The protective reflex of the finger, e. g., has as its unconditioned (inherited) stimulus injury to the finger; but by a frequent simultaneous presentation of sound and injury, sound also becomes an effective stimulus producing withdrawal of the finger. The internal mechanism of this need not concern us in the present discussion. It should be stated, however, that habits as well as inherited forms of response are susceptible to this type of modification, the distinction being that we deal with conditioned reflexes directly when the changes effected are made from the original stimulus rather than from stimuli which in themselves may be one or more removed from the hereditary status of the response.

From the side of changes in effector activities proper, the same statements are true, although the term conditioned reflex seems not to have attached to such modifications, undoubtedly due to the accident governing the choice of laboratory procedure. The protective reflex and the salivary reflex, i. e., the effector activities proper, have been kept constant in such studies and experimentation directed toward the analysis of stimulus changes. However, the psychological changes effected are presumably no different from those which occur in the contrary case when experience changes the type of response while the stimulus remains constant. The illustrations of this are legion. One may cite the changes which occur in the "expression" of fear and anger as the human individual matures in a social environment, or one may consider the modifications which occur in animal behavior during the process of learning. In the latter case, a total situation is presented to a white rat placed in a visual discrimination box, calling forth exploratory movements; but under the influence of punishment, reward, and

frequency, the exploratory movements are inhibited and give way to well-defined food responses. One may state such an outcome either as the inhibition of an instinctive response to a given stimulus by acquired responses, or as the acquisition by the food-getting response of a new stimulus. Perhaps both are involved.

The social values of the above types of change in instinct have been so widely recognized that we need not elaborate the problem further. This is not true, however, in the case of those modifications termed sublimations. The sublimation of instinct in the human individual is an example of the simultaneous modification of the afferent and efferent phases of the response. Anger becomes righteous indignation by the substitution of a new and (in this case) an ideal stimulus for the sensory (animal) one and by the conversion of the gross bodily attack into the response of denunciation, purchasing Liberty Bonds or longer hours of labor. Sex impulses may be sublimated in artistic activity, in dancing, in religious activity, or, when joined possibly with the parental impulse, in social service. Instances of sublimation are those where the inherited impulses are placed at the service of activities which bear little or no resemblance to the activity which normally embodies the impulse. The cases are not due to the suppression or elimination of the instinct in its entirety; only the somatic, skeletal responses are inhibited while the visceral continue probably at full intensity. The individual may entirely fail, and usually does fail, to identify the persistent behavior complex, because to be uninitiated, instincts are identified in terms of their somatic components. It is this difficulty of identification which permits the sublimation to proceed unimpeded by emotional conflict, and unthreatened by the failure which would almost surely be its lot did the subject realize the origin of his impulses in their proper (unconditioned) instinct.

Although the non-technical use of sublimate means to purify, or to idealize, the preceding analysis would indicate that the physiological mechanisms involved need not include the equivalent of ideals. The stimuli for artistic activities, for dancing, for charity and social service may be as concrete as for the arousal of any other form of modified instinctive performance. The presence of syncopated music and members of the opposite sex initiates dancing, and the awareness of suffering and poverty calls out charitable relief in those individuals possessing the sublimated behavior. And so, although one would hesitate to

apply this term to animals below man, the understanding of instinctive modifications is better when one realizes the essential continuity of the phenomena. Thus a dog can by training be made angry by whistling, and the instinct can then be modified on its effector side by training the dog to vent his pugnacity in some unusual manner. Behavioristically, the instinct is as truly sublimated as in man, although the social significance of the change may be infinitesimal.

26. Ways of Modifying Instinctive Tendencies [BETTS, George Herbert, The Mind and Its Education, pp. 237–241. New York, D. Appleton & Co., 1923.]

Most human instincts are sufficiently pliable that they may be modified or have their direction changed by the treatment given the individual in his training or his environment. The following are the more important of the ways in which instinctive tendencies may be modified:

1. Punishment and Reward.-We have already learned in our discussion of neurone connections and their relation to habit-forming that an act which is accompanied by pleasure has a tendency to persist, whereas one accompanied by discomfort or pain has a tendency to fade out. The punishment may be natural, as when it comes as a natural sequence of the wrong act; for example, the child is overbearing and quarrelsome, and as a result is punished by the ill-will and scorn of his group. Punishment may be artificial, as when the quarrelsome child is made to perform some task as a penalty. So also in the manner of rewards. Acts of good-will, friendliness, and coöperation naturally bring the satisfaction of admiration and praise from the group. The child's parents may offer an artificial reward for good behavior, such as money prizes or exemption from tasks.

In general, the more nearly a punishment or reward can be attached to the situation to which it applies, the better its effect as a deterrent or a stimulus. Artificial punishments and rewards connect less directly with the act concerned and may also tend to produce an undesirable attitude toward the one who controls the penalty or prize. One of the most valuable elements of the child's education is his learning of the inevitable relation of cause and effect. This lesson is hindered by the introduction of artificial situations of any kind.

2. Change of Response.-This principle seeks to substitute a desirable act for an undesirable one and so build the desirable behavior into established habit. The child who cruelly hurts his dog is led to become its champion and protector; the one who teases

or bullies a timid playmate is brought to have pride in defending him from other tormentors; the greedy child enters into a game of seeing which of the family can be most dainty and polite; the youth with a tendency to fits of anger is brought to appreciate the desirability of dignity and self-control.

3. Sublimation.-This is really a special form of number 2, but of sufficient importance to warrant separate notice. When the instinctive tendency is sublimated, its direction is changed, usually under some new interest or spur of emotion. Jacob Riis succeeded in transforming a gang of boys bent on criminal exploits into a neighborhood club which coöperated with the police in keeping peace and order. Here the natural tendency to combat, adventure, and action was employed to the full, but to better ends. Fear may be made over into caution, foolhardiness into tempered courage, combativeness into a militant defense of right and justice, boastfulness into a healthy pride in high achievement. By this process the dynamic energies of original nature are conserved and made to work for instead of against their possessor.

4. Change of Environment or Stimuli.-We have already shown how an instinctive tendency is brought to produce action only by adequate stimuli. The dog turns hunter only when there is something to hunt, anger springs up only in response to a provoking cause. Now it is evident that if an undesirable instinctive act is called into being by the presence of a certain stimulus, a change of environment may remove the stimulus and so tend to check the reaction. A caller thoughtlessly laid her fur down beside the baby, who immediately set up shrieks of fear; the fur was removed and all was well. A mother, knowing that the presence of forbidden sweets is too great a strain on the self-control of the young child, unwisely does not leave this temptation in the child's way.

5. Supplying a Counter-Attraction.-In this case, as in number 4, we seek to control the response by controlling the situation out of which it springs. We are not always able completely to change the environment and so remove the stimulus as was there suggested. When this is the case, the alternative is to make a bid for attention and response through a counter-attraction. The child bent on

handling forbidden articles in the home can be led to forget their appeal by engaging in an interesting game or occupation. The youth too much interested in those of the other sex may find athletics, music, or some other hobby sufficiently diverting to restore equilibrium. The boy or girl devoted to reading stories of doubtful value may find this desire swallowed up in the interest developed in stirring reading of a better sort.

6. Catharsis. This is the name given to the theory of purging the individual of an undesirable instinctive tendency by giving it free reign for a time and so allowing it to wear itself out. According to this doctrine the greedy child should be given every op

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